Leaves on the Wind
by RedhairBrowneyes
Summary: Something terrible happened during the Chuunin Exams. 6yrs later, Naruto and Sakura must fight for what they have lost. NaruSaku RxR
1. Prologue

**Leaves On The Wind**

**Prologue**

**Rain**

The wind swept over the lip of the small valley, howling as it whistled between the ancient hills. The moon's usually luminous face, hidden by turbulent thunder clouds, did little to banish the darkness of the night. Rain poured down from the heavens, creating miniature rivers that ran down the sides of the vale and forming ponds in the gullies at the bottom. Lightning danced across the horizon, illuminating the sparse forest that lay at the western end of the valley, and the tiny village at its heart. Windows glowing with the light of crackling hearths seemed like pinpricks in a blanket of darkness, the only signs of life in the shadowed world of the night. A winding road, visible only as a pale ribbon in the gloom, ran from one end of the vale to the other, rising over the top of the basin before streaking away into the world.

The village was of no great size or worth. An assortment of bars and taverns lined the main street, with a single shinobi outpost that had been long since abandoned standing alone on the western side of the small town, hunched on the side of the road like an old beggar. A cluster of crudely constructed houses sat beside the remnants of what had once been a large lake, its muddy depths riddled with the wastes of civilization. Several burned out ruins of what had once been homes were slowly being consumed by the growing forest, a testament to the devastation of the war that had taken so many lives all those years ago.

The old bar perched at the entrance to the village was well lit, being a favorite of the locals and travelers alike. The liquor was good, and many a worker would retire to the sake after a hard day's toil. Despite its popularity, business was small in a town this size, and the bar often had no more than a dozen customers at any one time. Travelers rarely stayed longer than the time it took to gulp down a quick drink, choosing instead to move on to the larger town no more than thirty miles away in the hopes of finding more comfortable lodgings. This did not disturb the village's residents, who enjoyed the solitude their isolation offered.

A loud crash echoed through the interior of the bar, momentarily drowning out the insistent drumming of the rain against the ancient wooden roof. A few patrons glanced around to the source of the disturbance, before sighing wearily and turning back to their own business. Despite the fact that travelers rarely stopped there, the tiny village's position on the border of the Fire and Grass Countries almost guaranteed that the few people that did stop there on their wanderings were not what the villagers considered the norm. Indeed, the person seated at the table in the corner with two of the village's farmers was living proof of the peculiarity of the rare individuals who stopped in the quiet town.

She was what many men would consider beautiful, although the fierce scowl twisting her features would have been enough to send the bravest running. Blond hair hung to her shoulders, and there was a frightening fury burning in her hazel eyes. Long cracks ran out along the table from the point where her fist had struck it, and the broken shards of what had once been her cup lay in a puddle of sake by her elbow. Coins were scattered across the surface of the remains of the table and around the legs of the chairs. The two locals' eyes were darting between the money pouch hanging from her belt, and the anger burning in her face.

"Double or nothing!" she growled, looking first at one man, and then the other. The two villagers looked at each other nervously. On the one hand, the blond woman seemed to have an unending supply of the worst luck they had ever seen, successfully losing more than a dozen times in a row. But on the other hand … they shivered as their gaze landed on the long cracks running along the table.

The smaller man, a balding fellow with beady black eyes, glanced shrewdly at his partner before leering at the stranger, "I think you'd best take what you've got left. You're going to have enough trouble where you're going, what with the money you've used up here."

"Just one more game!" the blond insisted fiercely, "I've got the cash!"

Greed glinted in the black eyed man's eye, but as he opened his mouth, the other man placed a gnarled hand on his arm. The smaller glanced at the other for a moment, and then turned away, scowling. The taller, a gray haired man with weary brown eyes, seemed to gather his courage, and looked directly up into the intimidating woman's eyes, "I am sorry, but you will have to find someone else to gamble with. My brother and I are done here." The two men stood up, and nodding shortly to the bartender, stepped out into the rain drenched night.

The blond stared after them for a moment. Once she was certain they were gone for good, she scowled darkly, and brought her fist crashing down again, this time hitting the table so hard that the legs collapsed. Muttering curses about fools who wouldn't know a good idea if it slapped them in the face, she pushed herself out of her seat and lurched over to the bench at the back of the small bar, throwing herself onto one of the rickety stools.

The bartender watched her warily. Since her arrival in the village a few days ago, she had visited the bar every night, her thirst for sake managing to balance out the destruction her incredible strength caused. Her companion, a smaller, dark haired woman who appeared to be much more conservative than her fellow traveler, was a blessing. The blond woman's terrible power could destroy the tiny establishment in the course of one night; if the smaller woman hadn't interfered each night as she usually did, the bartender wasn't sure his bar would still be standing.

He started as she turned her burning gaze on him, "Well, what are you waiting for? I need another drink. Unless it's customary for people here to let their patrons die of thirst!" The round faced man bobbed hastily and turned to the door behind the counter. If he was lucky, his insanely strong customer wouldn't notice that he was taking longer than necessary to retrieve more of the alcoholic sake that she craved.

Tsunade glared at the retreating form of the bartender; her predicament was difficult enough without foolish peasants making it harder for her. The villagers had been cool at best since both she and Shizune had arrived three nights ago, which did nothing to help the female Sannin's already foul mood. To make matters worse, the incessant rain had not relented since the two travelers' arrival, rendering the mountain passes to the west impassable, and thereby delaying their departure, at least until the downpour ended.

After several long minutes, there was a shuffling of feet as the bartender came back from the shadowed back room, his eyes downcast as he hurriedly placed a flask that was filled to the brim with sake and a new cup before Tsunade. He furtively glanced up into her hazel eyes, saw the barely masked anger there, and hastily turned away again, searching for some menial task to do. Anything to get away from the furious gaze and mighty strength of his patron.

Tsunade grunted in appreciation as she poured herself another drink of the alcoholic beverage. She finished the cup in a mere gulp, and was reaching to grab the flask again when a smaller hand grasped her outstretched fingers. Tsunade scowled fiercely as she turned to face Shizune. The Sannin's apprentice's face was pale and rain streaked, her jet black hair plastered to her head. She was staring at Tsunade with a nearly flawless mask of emotionless serenity, the only crack in her façade a slight twitch of reproving irritation at the corner of her mouth.

"Let me go," Tsunade growled as she made another grab for the pitcher of sake. With a single hand sign, Shizune pushed the flask further down the bench, away from the annoyed Sannin. She gave her teacher a warning glance, before reaching into her tattered money pouch and dropping a few coins onto the bench top. Grabbing Tsunade by the shoulder, she dragged the older woman toward the door, ignoring the elite shinobi's heated protests, and the pointed stares of the other occupants of the bar.

The rain fell heavily on the street. Puddles lined the roadside, and water poured off rooftops in streams. Children's wide eyed stares, their pale faces barely visible in foggy windows, followed Shizune and Tsunade as the kunoichi pulled her sensei down the street. The Sannin grumbled under her breath, but otherwise made no noise as her apprentice led her in the direction of the long abandoned shinobi tower on the edge of town. The remains of the door creaked on its hinges as Shizune pushed it open, and, once making sure no one was watching, hustled Tsunade into the interior of the hulking ruin. The only bar in the entire town did not have any rooms to rent, and the villagers were far too suspicious of outsiders to allow them to stay in their own homes, so the two travelers had been forced to seek shelter where they could.

Despite, its rough outer appearance, the inner rooms of the outpost were largely intact. A single lamp hung from the centre of the low ceiling, its dim light barely serving to illuminate the inside of the abandoned outpost. The roof was unbroken, as were most of the walls apart from a long, thin crack running down the northern side. An iron stairwell ran up the east side, with a trapdoor at its head that led up onto the watch tower. Two sleeping mats were unfurled in the corner, the two female ninjas' kunai pouches lying hidden beneath the straw upon which the mats lay.

As soon as the door was shut behind them, Shizune swung to face Tsunade, both disapproval and accusation gleaming in her dark eyes. "You said you wouldn't go back again," she said quietly.

The former kunoichi of Konoha glared at her student for another moment, and then sighed wearily. She dropped herself onto a rickety stool by the door and dropped her head into her hands. After a moment she looked up, her hazel eyes boring into Shizune's dark ones, "I know what I said. And yet I find that I can't help myself." She lowered her eyes again. "There is nothing you can do, so don't concern yourself."

Accusation faded to understanding in the blink of an eye. Shizune stepped forward, and hesitantly put a hand on her sensei's shoulder. "You had the dream again, didn't you?" Tsunade didn't say anything, but nodded mutely. Her apprentice sighed and reached into her belt pouch, extracting a small flask and a small porcelain cup. Seeing the glint in the female ninja's eye, she shook her head firmly, "I think you've had enough of the sake tonight. This is just a simple brew I cooked up to allow you to sleep easier."

Tsunade said nothing as her friend finished preparing the tea, muttering a word of thanks as the younger woman handed her the steaming cup. She closed her eyes and sniffed the sharp scent of the brew, its herbal essence serving to soothe her aching head. Nodding to herself, she lifted the cup to her lips and drained it in a single swallow. She grimaced as the heat from the freshly made tea scalded her throat, but slowly relaxed as she felt warmth spreading out along her arms and legs, reaching to the very tips of her fingers and toes, chasing away the cold brought on by the icy night air.

Shizune studied her sensei over the brim of her cup. The jutsu that the Sannin used to give herself an eternal figure of youthfulness did nothing to hide the shadowed bags beneath her eyes, or the way her shoulders slumped with exhaustion. Shizune had not seen her in a condition like this since they had first left Konoha, right after the death of her uncle Dan. Indeed, the dark haired woman half suspected that the nightmares that Tsunade was having were nightly apparitions of the loved ones she had lost in the war with Iwa.

Shizune frowned, her gaze roaming across the room before landing on the swirling contents of her cup. Tsunade was usually more open with her apprentice on matters that concerned her than most people would think was appropriate, and yet on the slightest mention of her dreams, she became stubbornly close mouthed. Only when she was totally and completely inebriated would she expose her feelings, and even then Shizune could not tell if what she said was true, or was merely the ramblings of a drunkard. Regardless, the female Sannin was not yet ready to come to her willingly, and until then, she would have to be patient.

"The farmers say that the rain should have stopped within the next two days," Tsunade said suddenly, causing Shizune to look up, "The passes should be open within a week from then, if the weather holds. We can be well into Grass Country by the end of the month."

Shizune frowned, "If they're wrong, and the rains don't stop, we could be caught up here for as long as a month, and it's only a couple of weeks after that before winter sets in. If those passes are snowed shut, we won't be able to attempt another crossing here until at least next spring."

Tsunade groaned, probably at the thought of being cooped up in the tiny village for any longer than a few days. Shizune felt the same way; the border town was so small and isolated that there was nothing to do but sit and wait out the storm. And unless the weather was going to stop as soon as her sensei seemed to think, then the two travelers would soon be out of money as well. They could not stay much longer without Tsunade using up the rest of the precious little they had.

"We could take an alternate route," Shizune suggested, "If we move quickly enough, we may be able to reach the border of Waterfall by the end of next week, and be back on course within a week of that."

Tsunade was about to reply when there was loud _bang_ as someone hammered on the door from outside. In a well practiced motion, the Sannin grabbed a kunai from one of the pouches beneath the straw and rushed to the side of the door, already gathering some of her chakra into the fist that gripped her weapon. All signs of her earlier inebriation were gone, replaced by firm authority in the face of a possible threat. The younger woman followed her rapidly, standing behind the door with her kunai at the ready. While it was unlikely that a foe of any sort would attack them in such an isolated place, it was sometimes better to be on the safe side.

Tsunade nodded at her shortly, before peeping through a crack in the door out into the rain soaked night. She frowned; in the space before the door where the mysterious visitor should have been was only empty air. She opened the door a crack and called out into the night, her voice thick with suspicion, "Is there anyone out there?" Only silence answered her call.

Shizune watched as Tsunade's eyes roved up and down, scanning the night. But it was only when she was only when she was almost looking straight down that she reacted. An expression of the utmost shock crossed her youthful features, her grip on her kunai loosening enough to allow it to fall to the ground. Shizune paled and tightened her own grip on her weapon. If whatever lay beyond the door was bad enough to make her sensei nervous, the younger woman was going to be in for a hard fight.

However, she could only stand in stunned silence as Tsunade wrenched open the door, leaving her kunai where she had dropped it. Of course, because she had been preparing for an assault, she had already focused a lot of her chakra into her arm, and thus she pulled the ancient door completely off its hinges. Shizune leapt in front of the dazed Sannin, kunai poised to strike. And then she felt her own arm go slack, her weapon dropping from her hand.

Sitting on the doorstep was a scroll. It was tightly rolled, with only a red wax seal pressed against the point where the paper ended. And, Shizune noticed with a start, all the rain seemed to fall away from the scroll without actually touching it. There was not a drop of moisture on any part of it!

Tsunade snatched up the scroll and carried it inside, turning it over in her hands as she examined it carefully. Lifting the door back into place in front of the newly created hole in the wall, Shizune followed her teacher to the small circle of light beneath the lamp hanging from the ceiling. From this close up, she could feel the small amount of chakra that had been imbued within the tiny wax seal, protecting the scroll from damage on its probably long journey.

Shizune felt a slight brush of chakra from Tsunade as the older woman tested the scroll for any traps. Having assured that there were no unpleasant surprises awaiting them, the Sannin broke the seal and opened the scroll, her eyes instantly darting across the spidery script scrawled across the paper. The dim light didn't permit the dark haired woman to read it herself, but by the growing scowl on her teacher's face, whatever had been scribed in the message was not good news.

With a muttered curse, Tsunade finished reading and with a vicious tearing noise, ripped the scroll in half. Shizune shook her head at her sensei's temper. She bent to pick up the torn paper, but jumped back as the remains of the scroll suddenly burst into flame, destroying what was left of the message. She looked up at Tsunade, but the older woman's eyes revealed nothing but her displeasure, and a hint of something that Shizune didn't recognize. But years of dealing with the legendary kunoichi had taught the younger patience; and so she waited.

Finally, the fierce scowl on the Sannin's face faded into a firm expression, an authority Shizune had not seen since her shinobi days entering her voice when she spoke, "Get your things together; we're leaving."

"But the passes won't be open for at least a week," the younger woman objected, her mind searching for an explanation as to why her teacher would suggest such a thing, "And its sheer suicide to attempt them in this weather." And then something clicked. She stared at her sensei, "Unless of course, we are no longer going to the Grass."

Tsunade nodded grimly, "It will be a hard journey, and I'm no longer certain exactly what our welcome will be where we're going." She stared intently at her protégé. Shizune nodded, her suspicions correct.

"We're going home."

* * *

Turbulent clouds hung low over the tiled rooftops of the houses, their swirling innards hidden from the eyes of the people far below. Tall trees rose around on every side of the village, with a single, white peak that stabbed the sky like a gigantic spear rising high on one side, its peak scratching the dark underbellies of the thunderheads surrounding it. On the very top of the huge stone, a tiny black figure, barely visible between the bright flashes of lightning, stood like an immortal statue, his features all but indiscernible in the darkness. 

Bright orange hair, inexplicably undisturbed by the roaring wind, was held back by a forehead protector bearing four identical straight lines, with a fifth slashing horizontally across the others. His face was hidden in shadow, only his eyes, glowing like bright red orbs, were visible in the darkness, burning with an unnatural light.

The figure tilted his head for a moment, as if listening to something only he could hear. In the back of his mind, a near inaudible voice whispered to him. _It is done_. The shadowed man nodded once, almost imperceptibly. A faint smile curved his invisible lips, as he looked back to the village far below and the churning clouds above.

The first drops of rain started to fall.

It had begun.

**

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**Hi, this is my first Naruto attempt so it would be good if I could get some early writing evaluation****. This story is going to be covered in two parts, the first being the shortest, which covers the Chuunin exams. Part two is much longer, but i can't tell you what it's about, or it would ruin the story.**

** I love to write huge action sequences, as will be seen in future chapters. Character development is a weak point, but hopefully it'll be a great story anyway. I understand some people don't like Naruto/Sakura, and I'm sorry but that's just too bad. I haven't seen past the second stage of the Exams in the anime, so there will be big OOC for characters like Shizune, Tsunade, Jiraiya etc. as I'm basing their personalities on research from wikipedia and other naruto sites. One question; do you want Romanized Japanese or English for jutsus? Oh, and I'm not sure if it's actually true, but let's say for the sake of this story, that Tsunade was 'running from her past' when she left Konoha after Dan's death. **

**If you've been reading TSH or FTEOTW, don't worry. I'm not abandoning those stories. It was series of unfortunate events that kept me from writing for four weeks and lost me all my files. But never fear, the show must go on, and so it shall. **

**Enjoy**** and, if you could, feel free to review.**

**Red. **


	2. Part I: Snakes in the Grass

**Leaves On The Wind**

**Part I**

**Chapter 1**

**Snakes in the Grass**

The Sandaime Hokage let out a long sigh as the door slammed shut behind the messenger, the loud _thud_ accompanying his departure only serving to increase the dull pain forming behind the old man's unreadable eyes. He raised his gnarled fingers to his temples, attempting to be rid of the overwhelming headache that was rapidly closing over his mind. The desk in front of him creaked beneath the weight of several stacks of paperwork, each and every one of them demanding his attention, but he largely ignored them. Only the topmost scroll stirred even the slightest interest in him, and even that had gotten only a cursory glance before being tossed onto the top of his already monumental workload. Pushing himself up from his chair, the Sandaime Hokage slowly made his way to the window overlooking Konoha, determinedly ignoring the cane leaning against the side of his desk, and the slight pain in his ankles that told him he needed it.

A cool breeze ruffled his long white robes stared out the window of his office, his eyes emotionless as he gazed upon the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The light of the sun was reflecting off the tiled rooftops, blurring the Hokage's already weakening vision. Pulling his wide brimmed hat a little lower to shade his eyes, he looked down upon the village that he led. Even from the top of his tower, he could see villagers and shinobi alike scurrying through the streets below, appearing to go about their normal daily routines, in peace with their surroundings. But, after nearly sixty years in the service of Konoha, the Sandaime knew to look beyond appearances. And right now, beneath their outward serenity, the people of the Hidden Leaf were rife with barely restrained tension.

But then again, they had every right to be, what with the presence of almost five hundred foreign ninja currently residing within the town's walls. While it was true that there were treaties to ensure the safety of the village hosting the Chuunin Exams, there was always the risk that a lone village may succumb to the temptation of a greater military force opening a large crack in its defenses, such as a time like this. The Konoha ninja were on a much sharper watch than usual, but there was only so much they could do if an actual battle broke out. Heaving a deep sigh, the old Hokage raised his coal black eyes a little further and his gaze fell on the Forest of Death.

Despite the almost inevitability of fatalities, there had been no reports of deaths yet, which relieved the Sandaime. Anko always appeared unperturbed when some of the Genin she had released into the Forest never came back, but then, she didn't have to face the wrath of the leaders of foreign lands. He had been against the decision to enter disguised Chuunin in the second stage of the Exam, but had reluctantly agreed when the members of the Council had warned him that some of the leaders of the other shinobi villages might see his opposition as an attempt to influence the Exams in such a way that would only advantage the Genin of Konohagakure.

While the placing of more experienced shinobi disguised as Genin would ultimately give the actual Genin a more realistic experience during the survival test, it could also force them into a situation they were not ready to handle. In these tests, a single mistake could be the difference between emerging from the Forest victorious and being left to die alone among the shadowed trees. And the Hokage didn't want any unnecessary casualties occurring for the duration of the rest of the Chuunin Exams. Unfortunately, with the Yondaime Kazekage's son participating, it was nearly certain that the first deaths would have been reported by sunset.

The old man sighed. He knew little of Gaara of the Sand, but the little he did know was disturbing enough. Few knew that he was a Jinchuuriki, his father ordering the one tailed demon Shukaku to be sealed within him at birth. The agents who had delivered the information to him had disappeared from their homes mere hours after arriving; no trace of them was seen again. Evidently, that piece of news was not something the Kazekage wanted to advertise to the rest of the world.

The rest of the boy's childhood history was stained with the blood of many, having survived more attempts on his life than the Fourth Kazekage himself. The man behind the attacks had never been found, although the Hokage was suspicious that Gaara's father had had a hand in it. To make things worse, the only person the container of the Shukaku had trusted had died when he was six, at the hands of Gaara himself. The Hokage shivered to think what kind of dark changes these events had wrought in the boy's mind. The son of the Kazekage had had an even worse upbringing than Naruto.

Naruto. The Hokage shook his head sadly. His plans to have the Kyuubi container raised in a secure environment had never come to fruition, and the boy had had to depend on himself from a young age. Despite the oppressing hate of the villagers, Naruto had come out of the experience far better than Gaara had. Rather than funnel all his resentment into a burning hatred for everything and everyone around him, the still young container for the Nine-tailed Fox had surpassed even the Hokage's hopes, his dream to become Hokage himself and protect the people who had shunned him nothing short of extraordinary. Regrettably, his first years at the academy had revealed none of the fighting prowess that his father had possessed.

A flock of birds took to flight in the depths of the forest. The leader of the Hidden Leaf frowned. Kakashi had assured him that all three members of his team were strong enough to pass the Exam, and the Hokage had been forced to accept his judgment. But he had his doubts. While Naruto's potential was undoubtedly high, he was weak when it came to any form of stealth, and downright useless in the art of seeing beyond illusion and deception. His tendency to move before himself and his teammates were fully prepared was another habit that could cause him serious trouble in his life as a ninja of Konoha.

And then there was the matter of the demon imprisoned within him. The Hokage had no idea how much of Naruto's chakra came from his own supply, and how much was the Kyuubi's. It seemed highly unlikely that a boy of ten, who had never managed to create a single illusory Clone, could possibly sustain a Jonin level justu without some of the infinite power of the nine tailed fox assisting him in some way. Kakashi's report on the weakening of the seal during their mission in the Land of Waves was far more alarming, although the demon did not appear to be on the verge of possessing Naruto any time soon. The Hokage would have to hope that Kakashi would be able enough to prevent the monster from escaping its container when the time came.

The matter of what his teammates would do when they discovered Naruto's secret was another problem. The Haruno girl, for all of her intellectual intelligence, was as blind as most of the other villagers in seeing Naruto as he was. She could only see what she wanted to see in the Konoha prankster, thoughtlessly ignoring the poor boy's numerous attempts to gain the recognition of his people, and, the Hokage suspected, her affections. Her prejudiced scorn for her teammate would no doubt increase a hundredfold if she ever found out what the swirling pattern on Naruto's belly meant. The Uchiha heir was a different story altogether.

Sasuke Uchiha's reasons for disliking the Uzumaki were more well-founded than that of the villagers, in the Sandaime's eyes anyway. Naruto's boisterous efforts to gain attention were enough to ensure that the lone clan survivor loathed his very presence. It was a sad twist of fate that he was the only person who could have possibly been the prankster's friend. He had never had the influence of someone who lived in the time of the Kyuubi, a result of the massacre that had been visited upon the Uchiha clan by his elder brother, Itachi.

Sighing again, the old man moved away from the window, lowering himself into his chair and drawing a long puff from his pipe, still pointedly ignoring the large stack of files on his desktop. He had met Itachi on many occasions while the ninja was first emerging as one of Konoha's greatest shinobi. It was a true pity that he had turned his strength against the village, at the same time changing his brother from an innocent youth, into the almost mechanical machine that was Sasuke. The boy's goal of defeating his brother and avenging his clan were admirable, if a little foolish. Itachi had been far above a normal Jonin's level when he abandoned Konoha, and would have no doubt progressed far since his departure; Sasuke would have to become as powerful as his brother if he wanted to have a hope of defeating him when they finally met. Then again, when he saw the driven look that sometimes appeared in the young Uchiha's eyes, the Sandaime was chillingly reminded of his own former student.

The boy was not Orochimaru, the one they called the Professor reminded himself forcefully. He did not have the same goals, nor did he go to the same lengths to achieve his own ends. The snake Sannin had always been on the lookout for ways of putting himself above others, and the Sandaime shuddered to think what power he would have achieved had he ever been made Hokage. He was driven by his own greed, his greatest desire to have the power to crush any enemy that opposed him. But it was only Sasuke's ambition to defeat his brother that gave the boy the determined look in his dark eyes. It was an honorable thing, surely nothing sinister. And yet, the Hokage had doubts.

A sharp knock at the door, three quick _taps_, pulled him out of his reverie. "Enter!" The old door was pushed open with a loud bang, and the Hokage blinked in surprise as Anko stepped into the office, nodding her head casually as she approached his desk. He gestured to a seat impatiently, a ruffled look on his careworn face, for once not even attempting to peek at what lay beneath the netted shirt she always wore. What news could be so important that the supervisor for the second Exam herself would report to him? Judging by the grave look on her face, it was not some trifling matter.

"Anko, perhaps you would explain what you are doing so far from the Forest." It was an order, not a request.

The shinobi showed no sign of shame at her abrupt abandonment of her duties, despite their importance to the stage of the Exams currently taking place in Training Area Forty Four. The expression on her face only grew uncharacteristically serious as she spoke, "Lord Hokage, I've got some bad news. An entire team from the Hidden Grass Village was found near the edge of the Forest less than an hour ago." The Sandaime raised his eyebrows for a moment – it was a rare day that _Anko_ of all people respected his authority – and then sighed wearily, already hearing the complaints of the Grass daimyo in his ears.

But his expression quickly became a frown; while the deaths were always a tragedy among ones so young, loss of life was certainly not uncommon during the second phase of the Chuunin Exams. In fact, it was almost certain that some would never return. And despite how hard the examiners were on participants who attempted to cheat, it was rare that the competitors would not sink so low as to try and take out their opponents before the exams even began. What could have possibly persuaded Anko to report to him herself?

She must have read the doubt in his eyes, for she quickly continued, "My apologies, Lord Hokage, I did not make myself entirely clear." She cleared her throat, as if preparing for something unpleasant, "The bodies were found on the village side of the fence that surrounds the Forest, not far from the sixteenth gate."

Anko took a deep breath, "But the team that was killed was not actually from Kusa. It was one of the specially chosen Chuunin teams that had been intended to enter the Forest later on."

The Sandaime Hokage pressed the tips of his fingers together, frowning, "It was not entirely unexpected that some of the Genin would be far beyond the abilities of the Chuunin that were planted in the Exams. Some of the Genin participating this year are more than capable of defeating a Chuunin. Kakashi's students managed to outwit one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist while on a mission in the Wave Country, which would have been an impressive feat for a team of Chuunin. Even Kakashi was defeated in his initial battle with the man." The old man lifted his pipe to his lips, consciously ignoring the nagging voice of his doctor in the back of his mind, "It wouldn't be impossible for a Genin like say, Gaara of the Sand, for example, to defeat a Chuunin."

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you. But it is not their deaths that concern me so much as the manner in which they died." The Hokage's eyes darkened as she continued. When she was finished, he stood slowly and moved toward the window, gazing out at the distant trees as if he wished he could look straight through them.

"Lord Hokage," Anko said uncertainly, "What do you want me to do?"

The old man grimaced, and turned back to the Konoha special Jonin, his tone commanding when he spoke, "Assemble a team from any available ANBU units to hunt him down. Send three teams to patrol the fences. Your team is to enter the trees in less than an hour, and you are not to interfere with the participating Genin, hostile or otherwise, unless they are in direct contact with him. If he is sighted, I want him followed. You are not to attack him at any time. While I do not doubt your combat skills, he is not an enemy to be underestimated. Give your men the orders to flee if he sees them. Am I understood?"

She nodded sharply, and with a final bow, hurried out the door. The Sandaime glanced at the Forest once more. Somewhere, deep within that mass of trees, a former shinobi of Konohagakure was about to make his move. And, unlike last time, Sarutobi wasn't fit to prevent his plans coming to fruition. All the Hokage could do was watch, and wait.

* * *

A chill wind swept over the trees, only serving to increase the eeriness that was already prevalent in the unnatural silence that blanketed the Forest of Death. Fear radiated from every clearing, every bough of every tree, every inch of the deathly quiet forest. Not a single bird could be seen hovering above the treetops, not an animal could be heard stirring in the depths of the densely wooded area. A sudden scream erupted, drawing out into long moments, reverberating with raw pain, before being abruptly cut off. No, today was not a day when neither bird nor beast of the forest would want to be beyond the relative safety of their dens.

Far beneath the forest canopy, there was a flash of light, rapidly followed the by the echoing booms of an explosion. Sasuke Uchiha leapt out of the way of the shockwave, not wishing to be caught in the range of his enemy's ninjutsu. His foe, a shinobi of small stature whose body was covered in black bandages and wearing the symbol of the Hidden Waterfall Village, was already reaching for the pouch on his thigh that contained his kunai, apparently untroubled by the fact that Sasuke had managed to dodge a Chuunin level ninjutsu. Once more Sasuke was forced to retreat, and even as he did so he could feel his frustration growing. He could not possibly hope to defeat his brother if he could not defeat a mere Genin.

"I expected more from the heir to the famous Uchiha clan of Konoha," the ninja taunted, "Apparently, it is only the name of your clan that has power any more." Sasuke ignored the jibe; he had had to endure much worse than mere insults to get to where he was now. This Genin wasn't going to distract him that easily.

As he dodged yet another attack from the Waterfall ninja, he risked a quick glance at Sakura. The kunoichi was struggling against her own enemy, another member of the team from distant Takigakure. Sasuke almost scowled at the sight; against a ninja with a chakra level that low, he himself would have finished the fight in moments.

Turning back to his own opponent, Sasuke decided it was best to try and end it quickly, rather than draw the fight out for too long. There was no sign of the third member of the team from the Waterfall village, and although Sasuke was confident in his abilities, he was aware that even he would have trouble against three foreign Genin with only Sakura to help him. As much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke knew that Team Seven desperately needed their own third member right now.

The Taki ninja sent another kunai towards Sasuke, which the self-trained Uchiha easily dodged. Even while he was still in the air, Sasuke began forming the hand signs for one of his more powerful jutsus. "Fire Release: Grand Fireball jutsu!" A large fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth and streaked across the clearing toward his enemy. The shinobi looked surprised for a moment before leaping out of the flight path of the ball of flames bearing down on him. Sasuke grunted as he felt his chakra supply get drained a little more by the use of his attack. He would have used the Sharingan, but even with his extensive training sessions, it would have drained his energy far too much to be worth utilizing against an enemy like this.

The Waterfall Genin's cold gray eyes, only just visible through a gap in the bandages that covered him, were gleaming in the dim light of the forest, "You are stronger than I first thought. But your chakra supplies can only last so long against me. My reserves are quite deep, so you will tire long before I do." He leered at Sasuke as his hands began forming hand signs once more.

"We shall see," Sasuke replied emotionlessly, a grim smile forming on his features. His enemy had made a grave mistake in telling him that he planned to wear Sasuke down slowly. Now that he was aware of his enemy's strategy, he knew exactly how to defeat him. In his years at the academy, he had faced many others who had thought to tire him rather than take on the brunt of his strength. But they had all paid the price for their mistake.

He could practically feel the Waterfall shinobi's triumphant grin as he completed the last of his hand signs and raised his open palm, "Water Release: Water Sphere jutsu!" A ball of water bloomed like a flower in the ninja's hand and raced through the air towards Sasuke. The Uchiha's face showed nothing as he dodged once more, but behind the mask he felt a momentary shock as he felt the amount of chakra put into the attack. The Genin from Takigakure must have been well-trained to be able to put so much energy into his jutsu. He had severely underestimated the talents of his opponent, which was a blunder Sasuke rarely made.

Not wanting to waste any more of his chakra on another ninjutsu, he instead reached down to the pouch tied to his leg. In one quick motion he had pulled a kunai from it and hurled the knife-like weapon at his enemy. Surprise registered in the eyes of the Waterfall Genin at as he saw the explosive tag attached to the small weapon, but he was still quick to leap out of the way of the deadly kunai, leaving it to fly off into the trees behind him, exploding in the distance.

The shinobi landed on one of the lower branches of the gigantic trees that made up the Forest of Death and watched Sasuke warily, trying to predict his enemy's next move. Sasuke stared back calmly, slowly sinking into a ready stance, never breaking eye contact with his enemy. The Waterfall Genin appeared to be looking him over, as if searching for a weakness. The Uchiha's left hand, hidden from his foe's view by his body, crept down to the pouch at his side and wrapped around the handle of another kunai.

But even as his muscles tensed to throw, a piercing shriek ripped through the mostly silent forest. The Waterfall Genin glanced up, startled. Sasuke seized an opportunity at his foe's momentary lapse in concentration. Focusing his chakra to increase the strength of his throw, he hurled the kunai at his enemy. The ninja seemed to realize his mistake and leapt out of the small blade's course just in time. The kunai sped through the place where the boy from the Waterfall Village had been and cut the branch behind clean in half.

At the same moment, Sasuke spun on his feet, his eyes coming to rest on the place where Sakura had been knocked to the ground by her opponent. The Genin was leaping at her, his weapon gripped tightly in one hand, triumph smeared across his round face. Sasuke ran towards the pair, already knowing that he was too late. Fear flashed in her green eyes as she watched the small blade descend toward her heart. Time seemed to stop as the kunai stabbed downwards, ripping straight through Sakura's chest. Sasuke felt his stomach drop … and then suddenly, the kunoichi disappeared, replaced by a small log with a large crack running along it where it had been pierced by the razor-sharp point. The Waterfall ninja cursed and jumped to his feet, barely managing to dodge an unfolded shuriken that passed through the point where he had been crouching moments before. Perhaps Sakura was not as helpless as Sasuke had originally thought.

He swore under his breath as he heard the whooshing of a shuriken behind him. Focusing all his chakra into the soles of his feet, he jumped as high as he could. He had let down his guard, and he was furious. Not with his enemy, but with himself. He had always been the top student at the academy, always one step ahead of everyone else. Now was not the time to show weakness.

He rotated in the air as he fell back toward the earth. His enemy was back on ground level, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. There was no doubt that Sasuke could win if he revealed his full potential, but he wasn't willing to give up so much energy on such useless opponents. Instead of waiting for the jutsu to be completed and merely dodging it, he charged at the Waterfall ninja, pulling a shuriken from his pack as he went. The Genin's eyes widened and he hastened the rate at which he was making the seals. Sasuke was almost upon him when, with a triumphant shout, he completed the jutsu and hurled it at the approaching Uchiha. The gloating eyes abruptly became panicked when Sasuke rolled underneath the sphere of water, coming to a halt mere feet away from the Waterfall ninja, his shuriken now fully unfolded.

"Give me your scroll!" Sasuke commanded in a dangerously quiet voice.

The Genin glared at him from beneath the bandages that enshrouded him, "You think that I'll just up and surrender because you can dodge my attacks? You're delusional." Sasuke's lips tightened, but he made no other outward reaction. Suddenly he was at his enemy's throat, the sharp edge of the shuriken pressing against the thick material of the bandages. He balled his free hand into a fist and hit the Waterfall ninja between the eyes. The Genin exploded in a burst of water, and Sasuke swore again as he sprang away from the remains of the Water Clone, his eyes once more roving for the sight of his foe.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Sakura and the other ninja fighting against each other, each desperately trying to find a gap in the other's defense. And that was when Sasuke saw it. A shuriken, barely visible in the dark of the Forest, was speeding through the air towards Sakura's unprotected back. A glance into the trees to his left confirmed his suspicions when he saw the ninja he had been fighting mere moments ago, standing in the slightly off balance position of someone who has just thrown something with enough force to slice its target in half. Sasuke knew he should strike, and end the fight for good. But doing so would delay any attempts to save Sakura, and probably end in disaster. Making his decision, he focused his chakra to his feet again and flew through the air in a direct line to his besieged teammate.

It was a race between him and the shuriken. The spinning weapon had a head start, but he was sure he could catch it. Twenty feet from Sakura, the shuriken was still ahead of him. Ten feet, and he was level with it. Five feet; he had overtaken it. He landed on the branch next to Sakura and she half turned to him, a questioning look in her eyes, as well as a touch of the unwanted emotion she often showed him. The Waterfall ninja she had been fighting took the opportunity to swing at her with his kunai, but Sasuke knocked his attack away with a roundhouse kick, at the same time grabbing Sakura around the waist and throwing her at the ground. Moments later the shuriken sliced through the space where the Team Seven kunoichi had stood seconds before.

The Waterfall ninja, who had been disoriented by Sasuke's kick, was shocked to see the weapon flying directly at his chest. He attempted to dart out of the range of the spinning blades, but wasn't entirely successful. The spinning blades of the shuriken cut through the flesh on his arm as if it were a warm knife carving through butter, his shriek of agony accompanied by a large spurt of blood that sprayed from his wound. His left hand flew to his injured forearm, trying to stop the seemingly endless flow of blood.

The Waterfall Genin measured Sasuke with his eyes, as if weighing up his chances of taking on the near full strength Uchiha. Sasuke slowly fell back into a defensive stance, his hand once more slipping toward the kunai pouch on his thigh. In the end, it seemed the ninja decided to cut his losses. He gave Sasuke a final, defeated look, before leaping away through the treetops, no doubt intending to regroup with the other members of his team later on.

As soon as he was out of sight, Sasuke spun on the spot, and his eyes came to rest on a scene that frustrated him no end. In the clearing between the gigantic tree trunks, there were two Sakuras, both dancing in a deadly flurry of weapons and taijutsu. As he watched, one of them managed to land a strike on the other, causing a deep slash on her opponent's arm. Sasuke swore. He didn't want to use any energy on the Sharingan, but if he wasn't able to figure out which was the real Sakura, he may have no choice. He couldn't afford to lose a teammate so early in the exams.

After another moment of reluctant hesitation, in which one of the Sakuras gained a long slash along the underside of her leg, he activated the Kekkai Genkai of the Uchiha clan. The world seemed to come into a clearer focus. He could pick out every fiber of the fighting kunoichis' clothing far below. But that wasn't all. With his Sharingan turned on, he could see every movement the two figures made, and one was most definitely not using any of the fighting styles that a kunoichi trained in a Konoha ninja academy would use. Pulling a kunai from his pouch, he soared through the air towards the battling duo. His feet had barely touched down before he was making a stabbing motion towards the imposter.

The Waterfall shinobi seemed to realize what Sasuke was doing a second too late. He blocked another attack from the real Sakura, desperately trying to swing his kunai far enough around to deflect Sasuke's strike. He wasn't quick enough. Sasuke drove his kunai through the Genin's side at the same time that Sakura managed to strike him with her fist. The Genin stared at them in shock for a moment, and then to Sasuke's surprise, a slow smirk formed on his lips.

"I guess you do live up to your name. Well, until next time, Uchiha," he whispered. And with that, the Water Clone exploded, leaving both Sakura and Sasuke soaking wet. A stunned silence followed the ninja's departure, punctuated only by the now familiar echoing screams that reverberated around the seemingly empty Forest. Finally, the bright red of the Sharingan faded from Sasuke's eyes, only to be replaced by the Uchiha's own dark, cold ones. Sakura sighed and began wringing the edges of her clothes.

"Do you think he will come back?" she asked tentatively, hoping that she would get more than a grunt or a moody reply. If she had any real expectations for this, she was to be severely disappointed.

"The coward is probably back with his teammates already," Sasuke growled, a dark frown appearing on his face, "I don't think even he would be stupid enough to come back after a loss like that." Sakura turned her eyes to the ground, hiding the disbelief etched into her face. Whatever Sasuke said, she doubted that the Genin from Takigakure would give up on the opportunity to take down a two man team. And the third member of their group had never shown up. What hidden abilities did he hide?

"We should keep moving," Sasuke continued in a hard voice, "We wasted far too much time and energy on those two fools. We should have retreated when we first saw that neither of them had the scroll."

Sakura opened her mouth in what promised to be a scathing retort, but melted under Sasuke's fierce gaze. Instead she reached into the pouch on her thigh and removed a length of bandages. She tried not to wince as she pulled them tight around the wound that ran halfway from her knee to her ankle. "Was there any sign of Naruto?" the pink haired girl muttered as she slid her kunai back into its pouch.

Sasuke scowled, "There has been nothing, but it really doesn't matter. Naruto is a fool; he would be more trouble than help. If he couldn't even keep up with us, how could he possibly manage to assist us in accomplishing our goal?" He turned away, not seeing the doubtful glance that Sakura threw his way.

"But we need him to finish the Exam. What if he's injured, or worse?" Sakura said, a genuine note of concern entering her voice, "As the other members of his Team, it is our duty to make sure that he doesn't get hurt, even if he is an idiot most of the time." Despite her earlier irritation at having a fool like Naruto in the team, she had long since learned that even he was valuable in a battle, and was worried by the thought that he may be harmed without anyone at his back to help him. If Team Seven was to pass this exam, it would need all of its members.

Sasuke sighed, but finally turned to her with a steely glint in his eyes, "Very well. We will spend some time searching for Naruto. The idiot is probably just lost somewhere in the Forest. But if we don't find him by sunset, we will continue our search for the Earth scroll whether or not we have him. We will have to trust him to find his own way to the tower. Agreed?" Sakura nodded, satisfied, "All right, let's move."

The two Konoha Genin bounded of into the trees, being careful not to stray too far from one another. The cries of ninjas in pain were growing farther apart, as if the number of Genin in the Forest of Death was being slowly, but surely, reduced. Sasuke was annoyed by the delay that would be caused by having to search for Naruto among the trees; who knew how many thousands of hidden places there were within the forest? But if he was honest with himself, he knew that the whole stage would be much easier if Sakura and he could locate the third and final member of Team Seven of Konohagakure. One person could make all the difference in a battle. As they leapt between tree branches, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder.

Where on earth could Naruto be?

* * *

Less than a mile away, a spiky blonde haired ninja in a bright orange jacket and pants was also leaping through the treetops, his breath coming in gasps. The things he had seen in the last few hours were more horrifying than any of the things that he had had to endure growing up in the less than welcoming environment of Konoha. He could hardly believe that that very morning, he had been sleeping, safe in his own bed. The events of the day had made him wonder if safety was even real anymore.

Things had gone badly from the start. Within an hour of entering the trees, he had been separated from Sakura and Sasuke by sheer bad luck. They had come across a fight between two other groups of ninja, one from the Hidden Grass Village and another from the Hidden Mist Village. Team Seven had joined the battle in the hopes of securing a scroll in the confusion. But everything went wrong when one of the Mist Genin used an advanced Water jutsu to summon a heavy mist, completely ruining the attempts of the other teams to fulfill their objective. Even with the help of a dozen Shadow Clones, Naruto hadn't stood a chance once blinded by the mist, and had been forced to flee into the Forest, separating him from the rest of his team in the process.

Bad had turned to worse when he came across one of the two Rain teams that had passed the first phase of the exam. But rather than facing him, the Genin of Amegakure were facing off against the Team from the Village Hidden in the Sand. The only problem was that it wasn't a fight, it was a massacre. Without the help of either of his teammates, Gaara of the Sand had single-handedly annihilated the entire team of Rain ninja on his own. He had not only beaten them, he had torn them apart. Naruto had watched, sickened, as the red haired Genin had shredded his opponents one by one. Once all of his enemies lay dead in the grass, the Sand ninja had instructed his female teammate to retrieve the fallen team's scroll. And then, to Naruto's horror, the one called Kankuro had seen him, hiding in the treetops far above. Their eyes had met, but before the Sand Genin had time to react, Naruto was fleeing deep into the forest, desperately trying to escape any pursuit.

But to his surprise, no one had come. There was no telltale whirring of a shuriken as it swung through the air to cut him down as he ran. No insanely powerful jutsu to obliterate him as he fled. There was only the Forest, and the pain filled shouts that seemed to never end. The unnatural silence that blanketed the Forest between the cries seemed heavy, suffocating. His breath came in short pants, sweat pouring off of his brow as he continued his flight. But he dared not risk the Sand Genin's wrath, and he had run, unfaltering, for an hour before stopping to rest. Even then, he thought he had been able to feel Gaara's killer intent from that distance, although that might have been his mind playing tricks on him.

And now he was on the move again, desperately searching for any sign of the other two members of Team Seven. Every now and then the sounds of battle would reach his ears, and he would pause, listening warily. Once he was sure the danger had passed, he would be moving once more. Looking for signs of Sakura and Sasuke. He hated having to scurry for cover and hide from his enemies, but he knew that finding his teammates was his first priority. For without them, he would have more than a little trouble trying to complete this test.

Naruto sighed as he stopped to take a drink from the flask hanging from his belt. The cool liquid soothed his parched throat as he gurgled noisily. He had not drunk so much since the aftermath of the fight in the Land of Waves. He smiled at the happy memories of Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari. That was the first time he had been outside of Konoha's walls, and he had been so surprised that there were people who were willing to look past the strange seal on his navel, and the demon that was imprisoned within him. He idly wondered whether Inari had grown up a little since he had last seen him.

There was a sudden whisper on the wind, and Naruto jumped out of the way just in time as a kunai sailed past him through the air. He dropped the bottle of water, all thoughts of his friends in the distant land gone from his mind. His sapphire blue eyes darted, trying to zone in on the enemy he couldn't see.

"Over here," a voice called softly.

Naruto spun on the spot. Standing in the higher branches of one of the huge trees that made up the canopy of the Forest of Death, a lone ninja was staring at the Konoha Genin, a calculating look in his eye. His face was pale, his eyes an icy blue, his black hair hanging to his shoulders. He wore a long, flowing black cloak with a circular clan symbol, not dissimilar to that of the Uchiha, sewn into the back in a shade of the richest blue. His kunai pouch was fastened to the bottom of his right thigh. A headband was wrapped around his head, the symbol of the Hidden Waterfall Village engraved into the piece of metal. Naruto felt a jolt in his stomach when he saw what was attached to the underside of the man's sleeve; a single scroll, the symbol for Earth written on it. Even Sasuke would have to admit that he had done well to secure that scroll.

"I really don't have much time so I'll skip the pleasantries," the cloaked man said, his tone anything but pleasant, "Give me your scroll, and I will let you live. If not, well it doesn't make any difference to me, although I would rather try and avoid getting blood on my boots." He stared imperiously at Naruto, as if watching a bug crawling under his toe. His hand moved toward his side in a seemingly innocent gesture, but Naruto could see the muscles tensing in the Genin's wrist.

The Konoha ninja's mouth slowly slid into a slightly feral smile, "I don't think so. You'd better hand over your own scroll, or you're the one who's going to need help." The Waterfall ninja didn't react apart from a small twitch at the corners of his lips. The two stood in silence for a second, staring each other down. Neither spoke; they barely even breathed. And then it was as if there was some unspoken understanding. At exactly the same moment, both Genin's hands shot toward their kunai pouches.

Naruto leapt straight at his opponent, aiming carefully before hurling his weapon with as much force as he could muster. The ninja dodged easily, leaping over Naruto's kunai and in turn throwing his own at the blond headed Genin. The Waterfall ninja smirked as the weapon struck Naruto in the chest. His triumphant sneer became an irritated scowl when the Shadow Clone exploded with a loud popping noise.

"You'll have to do better than that to get rid of me!"

The Waterfall ninja spun as the Konoha ninja appeared behind him, throwing a punch at his enemy's head. The Genin from Takigakure blocked easily and brought his own knee up and drove it into Naruto's stomach. Naruto retreated to a nearby branch, bringing his hands up and adopting a defensive stance. The enemy shinobi leapt directly at the Konoha Genin, drawing back his fist for a direct punch at Naruto's head. The Leaf ninja ducked as his enemy's fist passed over his skull, bringing his balled hand up into the Genin's exposed stomach. The Waterfall ninja appeared untroubled by the blow and countered by using his own head as a weapon and striking the shorter ninja with his forehead. Naruto was only stunned for an instant, but it was more than enough time for the larger shinobi to dart behind Naruto and capture his arms in a tight hold.

"You perform better than would I expect of one so small," he murmured in his prisoner's ear, "It is truly a pity that such budding talent should be wasted."

With surprising force, the Waterfall Genin bodily lifted Naruto and threw him at the ground. Even as the Konoha ninja tumbled helplessly through the air, his opponent pulled out a shuriken and unfolded it at lightning speed. Within seconds, the deadly spinning blade was closing the distance between itself and Naruto. The Konoha nin hit the ground at a high pace, knocking the breath out of him. But he didn't have time to recover properly. The former prankster hurriedly rolled to the side as the shuriken imbedded itself in the ground where he had fallen.

He jumped to a standing position and pulled his fingers together in the seal of his favorite technique. "Shadow Clone jutsu!" Twelve identical copies of the young Genin bounded toward the Waterfall ninja standing in the treetops, each drawing a kunai from the pouches on their thighs. His opponent watched impassively as a dozen Narutos charged at him, their weapons all pointed at his heart. As one they landed on the branches, surrounding him. There was a second where all was motionless, as if time had stopped. And then the clones were fighting with the ninja in a blinding flurry of flashing steel and barely visible punches and kicks. Despite the fact that he was outnumbered twelve to one, the Waterfall shinobi was holding out extremely well. He blocked kunai thrusts by simply dodging them or deflecting the wild stabs with a flick of his finger. No matter what the clones did, they couldn't seem to get close to the Genin.

Suddenly, one of the Shadow clones stabbed straight at the chest of the ninja, while another which had slipped behind the shinobi stretched out for the exposed scroll on the ninja's undefended leg. To Naruto's shock, the Waterfall Genin pushed himself forward, straight onto the kunai aimed at his heart. He smirked and exploded in a splash of water.

Naruto cursed as two shuriken swung into his line of sight, bearing down on the group of clones from two sides. Together they dispelled half of his clones as they sliced through them. The remaining six clones spun around to face their enemy, who was now standing safely on a bough fifty feet away. The corners of the cloaked man's mouth jerked in what could have been a barely visible smile, before his hands began moving rapidly, making seals. After a moment, four copies of the ninja appeared around him, all of which drew their weapons as Naruto and his clones charged again. In spite of the fact that the Water Clones only had a fraction of the strength of the real Genin, their skill was still a force to be reckoned with.

The six Naruto clones swung their kunai toward their newly formed foes. The ninjas blocked easily and stabbed at the Shadow clones' unprotected sides. Two clones were dispelled, bringing it to a four on four battle. The original ninja was standing to the side, a hint of amusement in his deep black eyes. Naruto scowled. He would become Hokage, and at the moment all that was standing in his way was a stupid Genin from the Hidden Waterfall Village. He formed another seal, calling forth more Shadow clones. The five new doubles joined the fight and within seconds, the tables were turned. Two of the four enemy clones were easily overwhelmed by a three on one fight, and the others soon followed. Naruto turned once more, the eyes of himself and his six clones looking for the enemy who held the Earth scroll that he needed.

The shinobi from the Land of the Waterfall was regarding him thoughtfully. His eyes, which had remained emotionless so far, flashed with a sudden anticipation.

"This has been most interesting," he called to the Konoha Genin, "But I'm afraid I have to end it here. Water Release: Greater Water Sphere jutsu!" The Genin clasped his hands as the last of the seals were completed. They were parted just as suddenly when a huge ball of water grew between the Waterfall ninja's palms. Naruto could barely contain his shock; the chakra that the jutsu contained was immense, far beyond anything that he himself could manage with his own chakra supplies. _But not beyond the Kyuubi's_, a voice whispered in the back of his mind. He shivered at the thought.

Despite his hidden fear, Naruto grinned, "You think you can hit me with a little thing like that?" He pulled another kunai from his belt. "I dare you to try!"

The Taki nin smiled faintly, "I would advise against it, but if you insist."

The Naruto clones sped towards their target, raising their kunai once more. The Waterfall ninja appeared unfazed by the approach of half a dozen Shadow clones. He lifted the rapidly growing sphere of water so that he was holding it flat palmed above his head. Still the clones continued their attack. It was only when they were almost upon him, and they saw that the size of the sphere had increased to that of a small boulder, did they realize their danger.

But it was too late.

With no outward effort, the Genin from Takigakure threw the huge ball of water at his foes. It made contact with the foremost of the clones, and instantly exploded. The explosion was huge. It engulfed the other clones, instantly dispelling them. A drenched and beaten Naruto was thrown against the base of one of the huge trees, his chin hitting his chest. The Waterfall Genin landed soundlessly beside the stunned Konoha ninja and reached out and grabbed his shoulder, tilting Naruto's head so he was facing the ninja.

"I told you to give me the scroll," the Genin said, shaking his head ruefully, "You brought this upon yourself." He rolled Naruto over, scanning every inch of the young Genin's body for signs of the scroll of Heaven that the ninja needed to complete the second stage of the exam. Finding none, he scowled. He turned the Konoha ninja onto his back and hit him lightly on the cheek. Naruto coughed, but didn't wake. Growing frustrated, the Waterfall ninja drew a kunai. He rolled up the sleeve of the kid's arm, intending to nick him just enough to wake him. But just as the point of the dagger like weapon pierced the skin above Naruto's elbow, there was a loud popping noise, and the Shadow clone was dispelled. The Waterfall nin's eyes narrowed. He stared off into the distance, his thoughts hidden behind an unreadable expression.

The true Naruto was already half a mile away, sprinting along the Forest floor, not wanting to risk being seen in the treetops by the pursuit of his enemy. His breath came in ragged gasps as he fled the scene of the battle. He had severely underestimated the strength of the scores of other Genin that had been participating in the exams. First there had been the Mist ninja, then Gaara of the Sand. And now this - a Genin from the Village Hidden by the Waterfall who had the power to use a jutsu that most Chuunin wouldn't be able to handle. He would have to be more careful or he could wind up in more than a bit of trouble.

This was turning out to be a very bad day.

He caught glimpses of other battles being fought as he continued his search for Sakura and Sasuke. He was sure that he had seen Shikamaru and the other members of Team Ten facing off against the other Genin team from the Village Hidden in the Rain, but had decided to move on rather than get slowed down by an encounter with his fellow Konoha ninja. After all, it _was_ a competition; they might have thought he had a scroll and attacked him. Well, Shikamaru and Chouji more than likely wouldn't have bothered. Ino would have probably tried to beat him down with a few harsh words from her sharp mouth. He shuddered at the thought as he went on his way.

It was nearly impossible to tell the time here, as the sun was hidden beyond the cover of the canopy of the Forest. What he needed was a way to get above the treetops. Despite the fact that doing this would put him in plain sight of most enemies within a mile of his location, it was a risk he had to take. If he did not find his partners soon, he would have to make his own way to the Forest's centre and hope that the other members of Team Seven would meet him there. Now all that remained was _how_ to get above the trees; a quick glance told him that the canopy far above was well out of reach of any chakra charged jumps. He grinned as a plan formed in his mind.

Several minutes – and many curses – later, a human ladder of Shadow clones was standing in the middle of a large clearing. The upper members of the pile were holding onto branches and anything else they could find to support the living structure. The bottom ones were yelling at the top ones to stop eating so much ramen. The real Naruto was at the very top of the pile. He was holding onto a high tree bough with one hand, and ravaging the roof of the forest with his kunai with the other, attempting to make a hole through which he could see the sky. Much to the annoyance of the several hundred Shadow clones, most of the branches and leaves that the Konoha shinobi sliced through were thrown unceremoniously in the general direction of the ground. Which meant that a large number of the falling debris struck the tower of clones on its way down. Needless to say, this caused the human ladder to sway dangerously, and a large amount of abuse was hurled at the topmost Genin.

"Watch what you're doing, idiot!"

"What are you, blind?!"

"Be careful, damn it!"

With a final slashing noise that echoed around the clearing, the last of the branches fell to the forest floor, and sunlight streamed through the gap in the canopy. The sudden brightness was a sharp contrast to the perpetual dimness of the Forest of Death, and the topmost, real Naruto was momentarily blinded. He brought a hand up to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun.

Of course, being Naruto, he used the hand that he had been using for support on the branches of the upper canopy.

The tower swung perilously as the upper clones snatched desperately at anything that might stabilize the rapidly crumbling tower. The Konoha Genin finally managed to come to his senses. He leapt from the top of the ladder constructed from Shadow Clones, out through the gap he had made in the canopy and into the glaring light of the sun, landing precariously on a thin branch that pierced the roof of the forest like an ancient wooden spear. The sudden rush of energy he experienced after a moment told him that the tower had fallen and that most of the Shadow clones had been dispelled.

Treetops and leaves stretched away in every direction in an ocean of green, swaying in a chill breeze. About a mile away, outlined against the pale, cloudless sky, was a structure composed of black stone, piercing the heavens like a poisoned kunai. And far off, barely visible on the distant horizon, Naruto thought he could see the very top of the Hokage monument. Shading his eyes against the dazzling light, Naruto guessed from the sun's position that it was roughly an hour past noon. He would continue his search for Sakura and Sasuke for half an hour more at most before heading in the direction of the tower in the centre of the Forest. With a plan set in his mind, he began his hazardous descent.

Needless to say, his downward journey was less than graceful. Several times the boughs he tried to land on snapped beneath his weight, causing him to fall a small distance before regaining his footing. He tried using the precise chakra control Kakashi-sensei had taught them in Wave Country to run straight down the trunk of the tree, but as he began focusing his energy to the soles of his feet, something caught his eye which threw away any attempts at concentration. He abruptly stopped his rapid descent and landed on a thick branch. At the edge of the clearing where he had decided to build his tower of clones, there was a small hunched figure, every step he took obviously causing him great pain.

For the first time in his life, Naruto stopped to think before he acted. He knew that he was doomed to failure when it came to recognizing genjutsu and illusions, so he was wary of any traps that an enemy might spring in an attempt to get his team's scrolls. His hand inched toward the pouch that contained his kunai, and his finger slipped through the ring at the top of one of the handles. Despite his reservations, he carefully made his way around the clearing, making certain that he was always concealed in the cover of the leaves and foliage of the upper forest. Once he was directly above the bent character, Naruto examined him more closely, and realised with a shock that he couldn't possibly be a Genin.

The man didn't appear to have the symbol of any shinobi village attached to any part of his clothes. For that matter, his clothes weren't anything that a respectable ninja would wear. He looked to be wearing the dirty and ragged remains of what would have once been a very valuable white robe with dark blue trim. But that wasn't even as much of a surprise as his appearance; his long mane of white hair and equally long white beard were both well groomed, looking distinctly out of place next to the rest of the old man's tattered appearance.

Throwing caution to the winds, Naruto leapt from his perch in the branches far above. He had barely landed when he was rushing to support the elderly man, who was on the verge of collapse. The old man's head jerked up as he saw the Konoha ninja approach, and Naruto was shocked by the fear that he saw in the deep brown pupils, which were ringed with dark circles. The fellow's hands flew together, obviously trying to form seals. Naruto tensed and momentarily stopped moving, but began inching forward when he saw that the man was clearly having great difficulty with the simple finger actions.

"Hey old man! Are you okay?" the Konoha Genin asked cautiously, slowly putting one foot in front of the other. For some reason, the old fellow reminded him of the Hokage, one of the only people who had ever treated him like a normal human being. As the Genin drew closer, the man jumped as if he had only just seen Naruto, and retreated a few steps, a certain degree of fear evident in his gaze.

"I must … I was mistaken," the old man said, his voice barely above a whisper, "H-he fooled me. He fooled us all."

Although Naruto was never the brightest in the class at the Academy, even he recognized that the old man needed help immediately. It was clear that he had not rested for some time, and probably hadn't eaten for as long. How long had he been wandering alone in the Forest of Death, with danger lurking around every corner? By the things the fellow was saying, Naruto was suspicious that the man also might have lost a good portion of his sanity while walking amongst the trees.

He took another slow steps forward so as not to frighten the man, and carefully lifted his hand and placed it on the fellow's shoulder. The man's head swung around at the contact, his eyes darting between the hand on his shoulder and the headband with the symbol of the Leaf tied around Naruto's head. Finally, his mind seemed to register that the boy wasn't an enemy, and he promptly fell to the ground, sobbing in wretched gasps.

Naruto hastily dropped to his knees, grabbing the man's shoulder again. "Come on," he said, his tone urgent, "It's not far to the tower, we can get help there." He tried pulling the man to his feet, but the fellow just fell back in a heap.

"They warned me," the elderly man mumbled under his breath, "Don't trust … I didn't listen … so foolish."

Naruto frowned and formed the hand seal for the Shadow clone jutsu. A single clone appeared on the other side of the old man. Naruto nodded at the replica and they both seized an arm. To the Konoha Genin's relief, the man didn't react badly to two people grabbing him, and with the help of the Shadow clone, he managed to get the old man on his feet, slinging the fellow's arm over his own shoulder. The clone mimicked his actions, and the two of them began guiding the rambling man to the opposite side of the clearing, in the general direction of the tower in the forest's centre. Whether or not he met the other members of Team Seven there, it was imperative that the old man get medical help immediately, and that meant abandoning his current task. It hurt him that he would have to give up on becoming a Chuunin after coming so far, but it was better to save this man's life than pursue his own ambitions. There would be no point in becoming Hokage if he sank that low.

As they reached the far side of the open space, an odd hissing noise cut through the air of the dimly lit forest. Naruto glanced at his clone, but the replica just shrugged and kept moving. But something about the sound seemed to snap the old man out of his stupor. If he had been afraid before, he was terrified now. His eyes went wide and his breathing became more like ragged panting, as he struggled to break free of the hold Naruto and his clone had on him.

"Let go of me!" he screamed, "It's coming! I can't be caught, I must warn the Leaf! The Snake returns, and he hides in the Sound!" With a strength that belied his weak appearance, the man tugged his arms out of the tight grip the Konoha shinobi had on him and began hobbling away from a confused Naruto. The clone reacted first, haring after the old man who had obviously been driven mad at same point in a dark past. Yet as the real Naruto joined the chase, he noticed something else; the hissing noise was growing steadily louder. He dismissed it as he closed in on the old man.

The clone got to him first, with the real Naruto about twenty feet behind. The replica grabbed the old man's arm, but was surprised when the fellow struck him in the chest with his elbow. There wasn't enough force in the blow to dispel the clone, but it still managed to knock the clone off his feet. Naruto had almost caught up to them when the ground in front of the old man exploded in a shower of earth and grass.

The force of the explosion blew the old man off his feet, and a stray rock struck the Shadow clone in the head, instantly dispersing it. The real Naruto was standing in shock, staring in horror at what emerged from the newly formed hole in the forest floor. Rearing its head as it brought the rest of its black scaled body out of the underground tunnel it had dug, the gigantic serpent's glowing, blood red eyes settled on the dirty robed figure cowering in the grass nearby. It was huge; its head brushed against the upper branches of the canopy as it moved.

Naruto couldn't move. Fear was immobilizing him as surely as if he was tied up with an iron chain. Revulsion filled him as the huge snake lunged at the helpless old man; at both the ferocity of the snake's attack, and at his own fear. The fellow managed to roll to the side as the snake struck the ground where he had been lying seconds before. As the snake reared its head for another attack, the old man caught Naruto's eye, and the Konoha Genin saw something he was not expecting to see. There was fear of course, but there was also a dull acceptance, as if he knew that his time was up.

Naruto tried to do something. He wanted to reach for a kunai, a shuriken, anything. But his muscles didn't follow his orders. He felt his stomach plummet as the serpent dived at its victim once more, this time managing to catch and crush the old man's leg between its huge jaws. The old man didn't scream or shout as the beast continued to devour him, his body and mind failing him as the monster finished its work.

Naruto felt a spike of uncontrollable rage run through his veins. His hand shot toward his kunai pouch and he pulled out one of the small weapons. Unthinking, he charged at his gargantuan enemy, his whiskered face curled into an angry snarl. He gave a shout and leapt into the air as the snake finally turned with what seemed like disinterest reflected in its glassy, orb-like eyes. It dodged past the Konoha ninja's attack with an agility that contradicted its size. Naruto spun on the spot, jumping in the direction of the snake's head with his kunai raised. Instead of avoiding the attack, the serpent opened its mouth wide, revealing rows of long fangs, red with the color of recently shed blood. Beyond was a throat that four men could sit comfortably in. Darkness enclosed him as he slid soundlessly down into the huge snake's belly.

The serpent swung its head this way and that, searching for any more signs of food. It would have to return to its master soon, and that could not be avoided, but it would not pass by an opportunity at hunting when it had the chance. A quiet rustling of undergrowth filled the air as the snake slithered into the coverage of the trees. On today of all days, it could expect a good hunt wherever it went. Especially with its master nearby.

* * *

Kiba rolled the body of the unconscious Mist ninja over, unclipping the pouch containing the scroll of Heaven from the bottom side of the kunoichi's right thigh. They had been tough opponents, using a combination of reverse formation attacks with kunai and senbon needles. If Shino hadn't used his kikai bugs to drain away their enemy's chakra, it could have been them lying knocked out on the forest floor. And that would have been trouble if that Gaara of the Sand ever ran into them again. Forcing the horrible memories of the defeated Ame team away from the forefront of his mind, Kiba glanced at the other members of his team.

Hinata was nursing a long slash down her left forearm, which Shino was wrapping up with the preciseness and efficiency that were as much a part of his character as the dark glasses and high collared shirt he always wore. Kiba himself had suffered a shallow gash above his knee, but it was hardly worth worrying about, even though Akamaru seemed a little anxious. Right now, his main concern was getting his team to the tower at the heart of the forest as quickly as possible.

"We can't be more than an hour from the centre," he said to his companions, "If we hurry we can get there before dusk."

Hinata glanced at Kiba tentatively, as if asking permission to speak. The Inuzuka nodded impatiently; the girl's shyness was enough to wear the most patient man on earth down. Her cheeks tinged red, the Hyuuga hurried on, "We should probably rest for a while before moving on to the tower," she murmured quietly, "If someone attacks us on the way and we're still weary from battle, they will have no trouble defeating us and taking both the Heaven and Earth scrolls."

Shino nodded slightly, "Her assessment of the situation is correct. If any one of the countless enemies out there were to assault us as we stand, we would have a very difficult struggle to deal with."

Kiba sighed at his teammate's lack of enthusiasm at the prospect of moving on. He wouldn't have minded staying put for a while, but after watching Gaara decimate the Rain team with nothing more than several jutsus, he thought that it would probably be a better idea if they tried finishing the exam as quickly as possible. If there was someone as dangerous as that out there, he didn't want to risk Team Eight against a potentially unbeatable opponent, especially one that could do that much damage.

"We'll move on to the tower," he said slowly, "It would be better if we could rest and get our energy back, but I think it's safer to get out of here as soon as possible. I don't want to take unnecessary risks." Hinata gave a slight nod and stifled a gasp as Shino finished the bandaging with a tight knot. Shino didn't react at all. It only took a few minutes for the members of Team Eight of Konoha to repack their combat gear before setting out in the direction of the tower.

No matter how hard he ran though, Kiba could not completely wipe the memory of Gaara's annihilation of the Hidden Rain team from his mind. That any Genin could possess that much power was shocking. But to use it to brutally murder a group of ninja who had already surrendered their scroll and their weapons was … horrifying. Hana had cautioned him many times during the weeks of training before the Exams of the strength of the ninja he would be facing, but he had not anticipated anything like this.

_Be prepared for anything_, she had warned,_ Odds are these ninja will be the best of the Genin of where they come from, so don't let your guard down, no matter what happens_.

Kiba grimaced as he remembered how his sister had burned that message into his brain. Despite having been a Chuunin for several years, the Konoha vet was not weak or useless in combat, as a number of people believed. In fact, those who got on her bad side learned quickly enough that she was not someone to be underestimated in the field of war.He shivered when he recalled the last time he had made her angry; that was enough to make him forget all about a certain Sand wielding ninja.

They had only gone a little way before a shriek ripped through the silence of the Forest. Kiba went very still. There were two things that were wrong about the scream. The first was that there had been no other cries of pain for at least half an hour, which the member of the Inuzuka clan supposed meant that most of the teams that would be passing were already well on their way to the tower. The second problem was that he recognized the voice as that of Sakura Haruno. He glanced around at his teammates. Shino was as unreadable as ever, but Hinata had a frightened gleam in her violet eyes that he knew had nothing to do with Sakura. Kiba sighed; Hinata's infatuation with the troublemaker of Konoha confused him even more than Shino's relationship with the kikai bugs.

He looked to Shino. The contemplative Aburame's eyebrows were slightly bent in indication of a small frown, a rare show of emotion on his part on most days, "It could be beneficial for us if our fellow shinobi of the Leaf were to pass. We know them, whereas any competitors from foreign villages would be unpredictable."

Kiba glanced back at Hinata. The dark haired kunoichi was still pale, but managed to murmur, "We have to see if they're alright. Kurenai-sensei told us that it was important to help the other Konoha Genin if we could."

The Inuzuka clan Genin rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. When he opened them again, Hinata and Shino were watching him expectantly, although there was still a trace of fear in the Hyuuga's face. "We're going to check if they're okay," he said finally, "If it's too dangerous, we'll pull out right away. We don't want to get into a fight with someone like Gaara. Alternatively, if we find them and they are not in dire trouble we can take both teams on and try to take their scrolls, knocking out two enemies with one stone. If all goes well, we will also get the chance to weigh up the other competitor's strength. Agreed?"

The other two nodded, with Hinata glaring at Kiba reproachfully. He ignored the dark look; as a kunoichi of a hidden shinobi village, she shouldn't be broadcasting her emotions so openly anyway. He tightened the straps on the container on his wrist that now contained two scrolls and set off at a run, in the direction of Sakura's scream, in the opposite direction of the tower.

Within moments he heard the quiet footfalls of his teammates behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. Both Shino and Hinata had a firm set to their jaws, the former moving with a grace that didn't seem to match his speed, the latter still with a hint of worry in her eyes. All three of them knew that they could be sacrificing more than the chance to become Chuunin.

Turning back to the front, Kiba grinned in anticipation.

* * *

If there was one thing Sakura was sure of, it was that she had never felt a fear such as this. It was ice in her veins, freezing her slowly from the inside out. It was an invisible force, blanketing her, inhibiting her, suffocating her. Alarms were going off in every inch of her body, telling her to run, to flee as she should. But she couldn't. Not because she refused to, although she probably wouldn't have left any of her teammates in the heat of a battle anyway. It was the elaborate jutsu her foe had used to instill fear in her very bones that left her paralyzed and useless in the middle of the forest clearing.

The Grass nin standing motionless across the clearing was not what he appeared to be. In a way, he looked almost inhuman, as if his soul had been placed in the wrong body. And that thought scared the pink haired kunoichi. There was no doubt that he was of a higher rank than Genin. His skill was at least that of a Jonin, if not higher. His every movement seemed fluent and smooth, the motions of a highly talented shinobi. He had a frighteningly advanced knowledge of jutsu, which he had not hesitated to demonstrate on the two Konoha shinobi who were at least five years his junior. Sakura was sure that she was the one of only two members of her class who had seen her own death.

It was the reason she stood immobile, unable to move from the sheer terror that was pumping through her. In a matter of seconds, her will to fight, her entire reason for being, had been made meaningless by the abilities of a Grass nin in the middle of the second stage of the Chuunin exams. She wanted to sob, to scream, but she couldn't move. She felt a single tear leak from her emerald eyes and trace its way down her dirt streaked cheek, leaving a thin trail where it fell.

Standing three feet to her left, and every bit as paralyzed as she was, Sasuke's face was contorted in a mask of rage. His eyes shone scarlet with the power of the Sharingan, the bloodline limit of the Uchiha clan, and Sakura shivered when she saw the anticipation shining in the Grass nin's eyes as he stared into the fruit of Sasuke's labors. There was a kunai clenched in the Uchiha's right fist, and she could see the veins standing out on the back of his hand. His knuckles had turned white from the effort he was making to try and move, but the despair welling up in Sakura convinced her that he wouldn't succeed. That there was no hope for the two members of Team Seven.

"It is time to end this," the imposter who wore the symbol of Kusagakure murmured, his voice carrying eerily across the distance, "I have had my fun, and now I will leave your bones to rot in this pathetic place." A small part of Sakura protested at the shinobi's words. What right did he have to be the one to decide her fate? Who gave him the power to take her life? But the larger part of her felt nothing but a dull acceptance. If she was to die here, so be it. It may as well be here as any other place. Her Inner Self, normally so forthcoming, was unusually reticent, not projecting a single thought into Sakura's consciousness.

The Grass ninja reached into the pouch on his thigh very slowly, savoring the obvious terror that his victims were suffering, "I thought the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan was supposed to be something of a hero to the name of his family here in Konoha." He paused in his actions, "Evidently, I was wrong."

Sakura was frightened by the amount of rage and killer intent pouring out of Sasuke. Sakura knew that for the Grass nin to insult the loss of the Uchiha's clan was causing Sasuke more pain than any physical injury ever would. The hand clutching the kunai twitched forwards an inch, and despite the intense misery flowing through her, Sakura felt the faintest stirring of hope. She witched her focus back to the Grass nin, silently praying that he had not noticed the Konoha shinobi's attempts to break free from the effects of the powerful jutsu. She felt her heart sink a little further when the imposter half raised his left eyebrow, the merest trace of interest flickering in the deep black pools as he recognized the Uchiha's attempt to break through the jutsu.

"Your resistance is noteworthy," the Grass nin murmured in his frighteningly carrying voice, "But I have business elsewhere, and so, this is your demise." And with that he pulled the two kunai the rest of the way from the pouch at his side and flung them lazily at the two paralyzed Genin of Konoha.

To Sakura, it looked as if the weapons were moving in slow motion, floating across the clearing in the direction of the immobile pair. They sailed through the air in a straight line, and the kunoichi instinctively knew that they would not miss their target's hearts. There was a sudden flash of movement to her left and she was unceremoniously knocked out of the way of the speeding kunai. And in that instant, the paralyzing fear was gone, almost as if it had never been. She felt like crying with joy, but somehow knew that it wasn't appropriate.

The sound of two twin thuds made her head jerk up. The two kunai had slammed into the base of a huge tree directly behind where she and Sasuke had been standing moments before. The Uchiha was standing over her, breathing heavily and clutching at a point halfway up his leg; a deep cut was bleeding profusely.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Sasuke cut her off. "There is no time," he hissed through gritted teeth, his pain evident, "Forget the exam. We have to get as far away from here as we can!" Sakura merely nodded, following her teammate as he focused the chakra to the soles of his feet and leaping into the treetops, intending to put as much distance between themselves and the Grass nin as possible.

As they landed on the first of the branches, Sakura risked a glance over her shoulder. The shinobi was still standing motionless on the opposite side of the clearing, a calculating look on his face. But as she spun back to trail Sasuke through the canopy, she was surprised to see a tiny flash of satisfaction in the cold stare that was directed at the backs of the retreating members of Team Seven.

They fled through the upper forest, neither daring to call a halt in case the Grass nin caught them. The fear that had gripped Sakura so strongly in the clearing was slowly being drained away, and was being replaced by a steadily growing rage. In spite of the fact that they had gone through several years of intensive training to become shinobi of Konohagakure, both Sasuke and her had been easily defeated by a lone fighter from the Village Hidden in the Grass. If they could be defeated so easily by an enemy, what was the point of so much guidance? If they didn't have the strength to beat a single foe, then none of them would have the power to accomplish their dreams.

She studied her teammate out of the corner of her eye. There was a scowl painted across Sasuke's sharp features. She felt a stab of pity for the heir to the Uchiha clan when she realised that he was blaming himself for their loss to the Grass nin. He would drive himself into the ground in his efforts to get better because of a single failure like this. It wasn't fair that he would beat himself up over something that wasn't within either of their control.

They leapt through the treetops for the better part of an hour before Sasuke finally called a halt, making sure they were well hidden in the cover of the trees. Sakura felt like she had just run thirty laps around the walls of Konoha; no matter how much air she sucked in, only a bit of it seemed to reach her lungs. But she was shocked to see that Sasuke was in much worse shape. The Uchiha's face was a chalky white pallor that was tinged a faint blue at the edges, while every breath looked like a struggle. The wound above his knee was bleeding freely, staining his once white shorts a deep crimson.

She reached into her pouch and pulled out a length of bandages before approaching her injured teammate. Sasuke scowled and shook his head, "I don't need it."

Sakura felt a fierce glare form on her own face, "You're getting that fixed up if I have to tie you to the trunk of the damned tree." Sasuke looked like he was about to protest, but instead sat down with another dark glower.

Sakura carefully rolled up the Uchiha's left pant leg and unclipped his kunai pouch, trying not to wince when she saw the extent of the damage. Blood was running in scarlet rivers down the Sharingan wielder's leg, pouring out of a large hole a few inches above the knee. Almost an hour of running had not done the wound any good either; the skin around the slash was already adopting an unhealthy yellow hue. If Sasuke didn't get immediate treatment, there was a high chance of infection.

Sakura pursed her lips before reaching into her pouch and pulling out one of the small water bottles she had brought to drink from during their time in the Forest. Sasuke's scowl only deepened when he saw what she had retrieved.

"That's your drinking water," he muttered, "You should be preserving it rather than wasting it on a little cut like this!"

"Better to use it here and save your leg, than drink it and lose your limb later," she snapped, finally losing her temper with the stubborn boy, "If you want to throw away all chances at avenging your clan and family, that is your choice." She regretted her words as soon as they had left her mouth. She carefully glanced up at the center of her affections. Shock was etched all over Sasuke's features, being replaced slowly by anger. He swung his head around, staring off into the distance. However, he didn't move from his position. Sakura sighed and went to work.

"What about Naruto?" she said after a moment.

Sasuke grunted, "This forest is like a labyrinth; we could search forever and still never find him. If he _is_ still alive – which I doubt – he's probably smart enough to know to try and meet us at the tower. Although with some of the things he does, I'm not sure if he'd even know to do that."

Sakura looked at him, concern in her eyes once more, "If we get to the tower and he's not there, this will have all been for nothing."

"Then we had better hope he has enough brains to get through this!" Sasuke snapped. Sakura stared at him for another second, her emerald gaze piercing as it struggled with his fierce black one, her sudden anger momentarily quelling her tumultuous fondness for the Uchiha. Huffing in frustration, she concentrated on the job at hand. At any other time she would have liked the opportunity to get this close to Sasuke; right now all she wanted to do was drive a kunai straight through it.

The minutes passed as the kunoichi went about her quiet work, first washing the blood from the gash with the water from her flask. She reached into one of the pockets that had been sown into the sides of her belt and pulled out a tiny bottle of salve. She poured a few drops into the palm of her hand and frowned before applying it to the yellowish skin around the injury. Sakura hesitated another second, and then pressed what was left of the ointment directly into the wound. She felt Sasuke flinch at the sudden sting the liquid caused, but knew it was necessary. The balm made to prevent infection and slow down the blood flow. After the liquid was completely rubbed in, and the Uchiha's muscles had stopped tensing, she began tightly binding the injury with the longest length of bandage she could find. Almost instantly, new blood began pouring out of the wound and soaking into the fabric of the dressing. Firmly ignoring the way Sasuke stiffened as she finished the wrapping with a tight knot, she stood and stared into his face defiantly. He didn't say anything, but just stared into the distance over her shoulder.

"A simple thank you would be sufficient," Sakura said icily, still angry from their previous exchange. Sasuke didn't reply, but she was surprised to see fear flicker across the Konoha Genin's face. With a growing sense of dread, she slowly turned around.

Standing not fifty feet away, perched on one of the wider branches of the canopy, the mysterious nin who had defeated them with a single jutsu was watching them. He had discarded the black, metal-plated gloves that he had worn previously, revealing long pale fingers. The symbol of the Village Hidden in the Grass looked oddly out of place on the cold character.

Sakura felt a whole new wave of fear wash over her as she looked upon their enemy again. Her mind barely registered the fact that Sasuke was unleashing a huge amount of killer intent. The pretender didn't react to the pure hate shooting out from the Uchiha beyond a slightly raised eyebrow. His gaze was unwavering as he stared down the two members of Team Seven, but there was no sign of hate or malice in his eyes. There was only contempt, and, to Sakura's surprise, a touch of satisfaction.

"You led me on quite a chase," he murmured, his soft voice carrying in its unnatural way, "The victim runs from the predator, hoping that if it escapes once, it can do so again. But all prey is caught in the end."

Rather than reach for his kunai pouch, which Sakura had not doubt he could have used to defeat them with relative ease, the bony fingers began forming rapid hand seals. Determined not to be beaten by the same jutsu twice, the kunoichi swung her eyes away from the figure standing in the treetops, hoping to avoid the paralyzing fear that had been invoked by the elaborate vision in which she had viewed her own death. She felt her face burn with shame and rage as soft laughter echoed around the canopy.

A bright flash made her leap for cover, reaching the protection of the upper leaves as a burst of flame incinerated the branch where they had been standing. Sasuke was only a second behind her, and landed softly on the bough beside her. A tremor of fear ran through her as she felt the amount of chakra the fire jutsu contained.

"Sakura!" She glanced at her teammate, and wasn't entirely surprised to see the anger burning in the boy's dark eyes. "We can't look directly at him," the Uchiha said through gritted teeth, "As much as I hate to say it, the Sharingan is next to useless unless I can watch every move he makes, so we'll probably have to resort to close combat. I'll attack him directly with kunai and some weaker jutsus, but I'll be counting on you to try and hit him with some shuriken from a distance. It's not the best plan, but we don't really have much of a choice."

"I can help you fight him," the pink haired kunoichi whispered fiercely.

Sasuke's face hardened, "You wouldn't stand a chance. You would only get in the way."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the pretender finish a new set of seals and inwardly tensed, waiting for the inevitable burst of a powerful jutsu that would end both her and Sasuke's lives. But there was none, or at least, not another insanely powerful blast of flame that killed the two on the spot. Instead, what she could only describe as a ripple of invisible energy spread out in every direction from the mysterious nin. She shivered as it passed them by, the only sound that identified it being a faint hissing noise. She risked a fleeting look at the man who claimed to be a Genin. He was still standing motionless on his own branch, his black eyes emotionless once more as he stared coldly at the two Konoha shinobi.

"Now!"

Before she could object, Sasuke had broken cover and was leaping from branch to branch in the most direct route toward their enemy, his hands flashing as he formed his own hand seals. With a curse that would have made her mother faint, Sakura stepped out from cover herself, wrenching a shuriken from the pouch at her side and unfolding it as fast as her trembling fingers would allow. She was furious that Sasuke thought so little of her fighting skills, but she knew that his plan was more than likely their best chance at coming out of this alive, let alone with a scroll.

She had pulled back her arm for a throw when Sasuke released his flaming Phoenix jutsu. It tore through the canopy in the direction of the imposter nin, leaving scorched leaves and branches in its wake. Its target remained where he was, a small smirk forming on his lips as the ball of flames shot towards him. With a casualness that stunned both members of the Konohagakure team, he swatted the huge flame aside as if they were nothing more than a couple of flies that were bothering him.

Sasuke gave an enraged cry as he landed on the branch next to his opponent, a kunai grasped in each hand. He didn't hesitate to swing at his foe's heart, his aim to kill. It didn't really surprise Sakura when the man who was not a Genin parried the blow with one of his long fingers, a hint of amusement in his dark eyes.

Sasuke's attacks quickly became wilder and more instinctive as his frustration with not being able to not land a blow grew. Amazement filled Sakura as the Uchiha's movements turned into a barely visible flurry of stabs and kicks; he was fighting on a level high above that of anything she had ever seen him do. Unfortunately, his adversary was a great deal stronger than that. No matter how fast Sasuke moved, the shinobi easily dodged or blocked every single blow. Even so, the sheer ferocity of the Konoha Genin's attacks slowly forced the ninja to retreat along the branch that the two of them fought on. At the moment that the imposter's back struck the tree trunk, Sasuke smirked triumphantly, driving his kunai through the palms of the ninja and pinning him to the tree. The shinobi didn't even grimace at what must have been extreme pain.

"Impressive," was all he murmured, and once more, Sakura was amazed to see approval in the cold eyes.

The Uchiha flipped away from his enemy onto a distant tree branch, already forming the hand seals for his jutsu once more. To Sakura's horror, the nin ripped his hands, kunai and all, away from the trunk, still with no evidence of pain. But he was too late. Sasuke formed the last of his seals and shot another huge fireball directly at his enemy from ten feet away.

Remembering her part in the plan, Sakura aimed carefully and hurled the shuriken across the treetop battlefield. As expected, the dangerous nin easily jumped out of the way of the huge fireball with mere inches to spare. He sidestepped along the bough on his toes as if it was solid ground … and in doing so moved directly into the path of Sakura's speeding shuriken.

There was a ghost of what she guessed was shock on his cruel features as the shuriken closed in on him, but it was quickly hidden as he caught the spinning weapon with one hand. He began to look up, and Sakura hurriedly turned away. She could not afford to let him make eye contact. She was halfway through pulling another shuriken from her pouch when a long shadow fell across her. She looked up, and a thrill of terror ran through her when she saw the shinobi towering above her.

"I believe this is yours," he said quietly, holding her shuriken in one long fingered hand, "Allow me to return it to its owner." In one fluid motion he unfolded the weapon and drew it back. Sakura shrunk away from the frightening ninja, waiting for the moment when he would strike and end her life. But it never came. A shout made her enemy turn, and he was forced to leap away from the terrified kunoichi as Sasuke's kunai flew through the space where his enemy's head had been seconds before.

Sasuke landed on the branch beside Sakura, throwing her an irritated glance, "If you can't help, at least try to stay out of the way!" She felt another spark of anger at his words, but he was jumping away before she could speak, a kunai in each hand as he charged their foe. Sharp annoyance faded into dull fear as the tall shinobi dodged and parried all of Sasuke's attacks with an ease befitting that of the highest ninja. Sakura felt a jolt in her stomach when she realized something else; it was hard to tell, but this imposter's technique was even more agile and deft than Kakashi-sensei.

Unfolding another shuriken, she hurled the weapon so it swung in a curving arc, spinning around the battling duo until it was flying at the deadly nin's unprotected head. With inhuman speed, their nameless enemy spun out of the weapon's path, leaving the spinning blade to fly directly at Sasuke. The Uchiha's Sharingan eyes widened for a split second before he leapt into the air, the shuriken passing a few feet below him. For a moment he was suspended in the air, helpless.

It was more than enough time for the lethal shinobi to strike.

Sakura watched in horror as the fighter sailed through the air towards Sasuke, his arms constricting the boy's own in a tight grip. She tried to pull a kunai from her belt, to save her teammate from his fate, but her fingers refused to obey. She saw the rage and hatred flashing across Sasuke's face as he stared up into the cruel ninja's pale face, but was shocked to see a spark of terror in the corners of his eyes. The anger toward the enemy shinobi she had expected, but she had not thought the Uchiha even experienced fear.

A small smirk twisted the face of their attacker as he fell toward the earth, Sasuke trapped in his embrace. His quiet, echoing words reverberated around the clearing and the surrounding trees with an inhuman rasp, "Your Sharingan is far more advanced than I expected. I believe it is far more powerful than his was when I first saw him, although Itachi was a little younger than you are now when we first met."

It didn't seem possible that any more hate could enter Sasuke, who was already exuding rage through his cold, black eyes. But his killer intent, which had been slightly dulled due to the fear instilled in him by the evil shinobi, spiked dramatically as the falling pair drew closer to the earth. Sakura recoiled; the extent to which Sasuke hated his brother was immense. How any human being could hold in that much bitterness and not go mad was beyond her.

They were only several metres from the ground. For a moment, it looked as if the two falling ninja would break their necks. But the taller man spun suddenly, landing with deadly grace on the forest floor with the Uchiha still trapped in his arms. Finally coming to her senses, Sakura leapt after them. She couldn't risk throwing a kunai in case she hit Sasuke, but perhaps she could reach the two struggling ninja before their enemy could strike. The shinobi's lips curled back in a snarl, revealing a set of sharp fangs. He bent forward to plunge his snake-like teeth into the Uchiha's neck, triumph glinting in his cold, merciless eyes. And that's when Sakura's fist connected with the back of his head.

The tall shinobi missed his target by mere inches.

Not wanting to miss the chance to finish off the stronger enemy, Sakura landed on her left foot and swung the other around at the imposter ninja's unprotected ribs in a spinning kick. The shinobi's grip loosened under the kunoichi's barrage of attacks, if only for a second. But that one second was enough for Sasuke to slip out of his arms, his hand already moving to his kunai pouch. Sakura gripped one of her own kunai. At the exact same moment, both Konoha Genin ripped their weapons through the chest of their off balance enemy.

Sakura could have screamed in frustration as the shinobi collapsed in a thick clot of black mud. On the far side of the small clearing, the man who claimed to be of the Hidden Grass rose slowly out of the ground, like some demon rising from the grave. For the first time since the beginning of their encounter, there was a hint of irritation in the pale countenance of the deadly shinobi. It was the only sign of emotion he had shown, apart from the mask of cruel indifference he usually wore. But the twinge of annoyance quickly disappeared, replaced once more by a cold smile.

"My friends are eager to meet you, girl," he said softly, "And I find that I am only to happy to have the pleasure of introducing you." Sakura looked around warily, her eyes scanning the nearest bushes for signs of a hidden shinobi. But in her heart, she knew it was hopeless. There was no way that the two members of Team Seven could possibly defeat more than one ninja of this power. They were having enough trouble with this enemy alone.

But to her surprise, he made no move to call forth any hidden allies that she could see. Instead, he began rolling up the sleeve of his left arm, slowly revealing a series of tattoos that ran up his pale forearm. Putting his thumb into his mouth, he bit down on it with his unnatural fangs, just sharply enough to draw blood. Sakura grunted in disgust as he ran his injured thumb across the series of kanji, leaving a thin trail of dark blood along it.

"Summoning jutsu," the shinobi said quietly. Sakura felt her blood run cold, and heard Sasuke groan beside her. There was a moment of silence, and then an all but inaudible hissing as hundreds of snakes began crawling out of the undergrowth, their black scales and dull eyes gleaming in the dim light of the forest. Sakura felt a tingle of fear run through her as she recognized the colors and patterns as being some of the most dangerous in the known world. There were well over a hundred of the serpentine beasts surrounding the two Konoha Genin, either wrapped around the branches of the trees far above, or lying in wait in the grass surrounding them. There was no escape.

"My friends are quite hungry," the shinobi murmured, "But it is one of my larger friends who will have the pleasure of finishing you." He placed his hand back on top of the seal scribed into his forearm, and this time, Sakura felt an immense rush of chakra erupt from their enemy. Sakura only had time to glance at Sasuke for the briefest of moments before the ground between them and the elite ninja erupted with a colossal roar.

A shower of grass, earth and serpents rained down on the two Genin. The Konoha nin were sent sprawling, their kunai spinning out of their hands. Dust rose in large clouds, reducing Sakura's line of sight to less than five feet. She scrabbled at her belt for another weapon, desperately hoping that their enemy would not come at her in the confusion, while another, dark corner of her mind cowered in fear at the thought of what might have created such an explosion. Seconds later, the dust began to settle, and as her vision cleared, Sakura abruptly wished it hadn't.

A gigantic serpent was towering high above her, its blood red eyes gleaming as it glared at her. Sakura's mouth went dry as she stared into its hypnotic eyes. Its elongated body was coiled behind it, its tail resting in the tunnel from which it had emerged. The shinobi who had summoned it was standing at the end of the clearing behind its coils, an impassive expression on his pale features. The hundreds of other, smaller snakes gathered around their much larger brother, their slim bodies quivering with anticipation of what was to come.

"Kill the girl," the shinobi ordered emotionlessly, mercilessly, "But leave the Uchiha. I want to take care of him personally." His cold gaze shifted to Sasuke, whose own coal black ones were swirling with a mixture of blazing fury and cold fear, the Sharingan having faded with his fatigue. Sakura felt her own will dissolving as she saw the grim acceptance on Sasuke's face. If even Sasuke had given in, what hope did she have? The huge serpent reared its ghastly head, its mouth yawning open to reveal rows of yellowed fangs, each pointed tooth at least as long as her arm.

But just as the beast leapt towards her, its colossal jaws yawning wide, Sakura realised that this was not how she wanted to die; paralyzed, useless, as she had always been when she was most needed. Time and time again, both Naruto and Sasuke, her own teammates, had proven that they more than lived up to their titles as shinobi of Konohagakure. They had taken on every trial given to them, and ultimately they had come out on top.

But it had always been them.

Never before had Sakura herself made any sort of contribution to their efforts. Never had she been able to keep up in a battle, her own skills relying mostly on her intellect. She had considered herself an asset, when she first joined Team Seven, her intelligence something to be valued in the field of combat. But it was all a false dream, a self-induced hope that Sasuke would recognize her talents and finally accept her.

And yet, in reality, she wasn't worth the gear she carried in battle. Her taijutsu was flawed, her abilities with genjutsu imperfect, and her ninjutsu skills were nigh on useless. But despite her own shortfalls, she had always blamed away her own failures on Naruto, claiming that _he_ was the one screwing up, when in truth, he hadn't really failed since his promise not to after that first battle with the Demon Brothers. She felt a growing sense of shame as distant memories rolled into her head, of the boy's dedication to completing every obstacle in the path to fulfilling his dreams, and how she had put him down every time he mentioned his goal of becoming Hokage.

An image flashed to the front of her mind as the snake drew nearer; a blond haired boy standing atop the academy roof, his bright blue eyes shining with pride as he shouted his dream to the world. And for a moment, for the sheerest second, Sakura felt the same pride for her indomitable teammate. And it was enough.

It lunged; she dodged nimbly out of the way, a final desperate plan forming in her mind. Her hand swung round in a stabbing motion as she plunged the weapon into the forked tongue of the beast. It recoiled instantly, its injured tongue flickering back into the dark hole of its mouth as it emitted a hiss of pain and rage. Sakura noticed Sasuke out of the corner of her eye, his eyes swirling red with the power of his nearly extinct clan as he watched the one-sided battle helplessly.

Her hands disappeared in a flurry of hand seals as the gargantuan serpent turned its eyes on her once more, the tiny red orbs burning with unrestrained malice. It dived at her again. A hiss of triumph and a pained cry from Sasuke filled the air of the clearing as the kunoichi of Konoha disappeared amongst the snake's body length fangs. But the triumph quickly became rage, and Sasuke sighed with relief as he saw long shards of wood fall out of from between the monster's teeth. He spun, his eyes roving the treetops.

Sakura was standing hidden amongst the foliage of the canopy, directly above the scaled beast's head, a shuriken clutched tightly in her hand. She was shaking, and the hand at her side was balled into a fist. Her face was pale white, fear evident in every inch of her as she visibly took a deep breath, and then leapt from her hiding place, the shuriken's blades disappearing as it spun. The giant serpent hadn't noticed her yet, its head thrashing about as it searched the ground in front of it. Sasuke held his breath as his teammate shot through the air, her weapon aimed directly at the back of the snake's head. With a cry of triumph, Sakura released the shuriken mere feet away from its target. The black scaled body spun, too late, as the weapon of the Genin embedded itself in the space between the serpent's scarlet eyes.

The reaction was instantaneous.

The snake writhed in its agony, pained hisses emerging from it as it slammed its not inconsiderable weight around the clearing. Sakura landed next to Sasuke, a shaken but confident smile twisting her lips as she nodded at him, before turning back to look at the carnage the gigantic serpent was creating. Blood was running down the beast's face where Sakura's shuriken remained, the weapon's blades protruding between the black scales. Its body crashed into the trees repetitively, its efforts to remove the weapon from its body causing it more harm than good. Tiny snakes fled in every direction, each trying to escape the range of their larger brother's repeated attempts at eradicating its injury.

Sakura turned to look at the monster's summoner, a grim smile on her face as she stared at him, "It looks like your 'friends' aren't nearly powerful as you would have us believe."

To her shock, the elite shinobi returned her smile with one of his own; another cold mask of arrogant superiority, "I believe it is _you_ who are underestimating the strength of my allies." He glanced casually at the pained snake, "Daija, enough!"

To Sakura's horror, the snake's head snapped up, its pointed face dripping with black blood as it glared at her, all traces of its pain vanished. The shuriken remained where it had penetrated the skull, and yet the beast was no longer affected. Its jaws stretched back, revealing its rows of poisoned fangs once more as it slowly advanced on the two Konoha nin. Sakura felt an odd fluttering in her belly as the monster coiled before them, a deadly hiss erupting from it as its shadow fell over them. She had given everything, and it had not been enough.

Sasuke stepped in front of her, his kunai raised. His eyes never left the monstrous snake's, but he turned his head fractionally, his mouth barely moving as he spoke, his voice low and urgent, "You've done all you can; get out of here now. From what I've gathered he wants me anyway." For a split second he was looking straight into her eyes, "You can still get away. Go, now!"

And with that he was in the air, his chakra propelled jump shooting him straight at the black scaled serpent's eyes. His order ran through her mind, and Sakura knew straight away that she couldn't obey him. There was no way she could abandon him here, to die alone. He was directly in front of the monster's open mouth now, his kunai's tip aimed directly at the top of its head. The serpent stared at him, an almost disappointed glint visible in the blood red orbs. She choked back a sob as its tail came crashing around at lightning speed, slapping Sasuke to the ground as if he were nothing more than a particularly irritating fly, before turning to face Sakura.

Its blood stained eyes bored into her own, hatred burning in its gaze. Sakura stared back, hypnotized, unable to look away from the pure evil in its gleaming red stare. Her mind barely registered that it was rearing up, its jaws yawning open further, triumph and malevolence emanating from it as it dived. At the last moment, she closed her eyes, darkness closing over her, protecting her from the horrors of the world beyond. It was several seconds before she realised … nothing had happened. Gathering up her courage, she opened first one eye, and then the other. What she saw made her gasp.

The snake was writhing in the clearing's centre once more, but this time its pain seemed more genuine, almost as if it was being torn apart. To Sakura's relief, Sasuke was crouching in the shade of one of the larger trees, his hand clutching the self-inflicted wound on his leg as he watched the serpent thrash. The elite ninja still stood untouched on the other side of the clearing, but there was no trace of the emotionless mask that had once covered the shinobi's face. Instead, frustration laced with dark displeasure covered his pale features as he looked on at the destruction being created by his monster.

_So_, Sakura thought as she looked back to the monster,_ This isn't some ploy to hoodwink us into lowering our guard. And it can't be the shuriken, as it had no real reaction to that in the first place. Then, what _–

Exactly _what_ was ailing the creature became apparent as several large, irregular bulges appeared in the region of its stomach, spreading rapidly across its body. Sakura watched in disgusted fascination as the creature began to swell, every inch of its huge body puffing up as its jet black scales stretched under what must have been immense pain. For an instant, its scarlet eyes rolled in their sockets. And then, it exploded, an echoing _BOOM_ filling the clearing.

Sakura closed her eyes just in time. A wave of disgusting, brown sludge slammed into her, knocking her off her feet, smashing her into the ground. She felt her head strike a stone, and she knew no more. The last thing she saw, as the sludge settled on the ground, was a group of orange clad figures where the snake had previously stood, their blue eyes shining as they shouted as one.

"Nothing will stop _me_ from becoming Hokage. Believe it!"

* * *

**Hey again. ****Thanks to all those readers who reviewed. You guys are legendary. A special thanks to Dark-Syaoran who told me where to find those manga. **

**This chapter was planned to be longer, but, as some things happened, it seemed a good place to cut it off, so hope its good reading anyway. Also; I'm better at the action side of things with the adv./rom. classification, so don't expect huge love scenes or too much 'fluff'. Not saying there's no romance, its just not the primary focus.**

**This chapter might seem a bit screwed up for one big reason. I had no idea how long the actual forest of death ****test took when I began. So when I started writing this mother of a chapter, I was half way through before I found out the second stage was five days, and not twenty four hours like I thought. Thus I had to go back and do up most of what I'd stuffed up. Talk about a mix up. Anyway, if it says something where it sounds like the timing's out of whack, it's just because I made a mistake. Sorry. **

**Concerning names: I just use an internet translator to change English into romaji, so, even though I'm pretty sure I've got it right, if I've screwed up there, a heads up would be good. Eg. The snake's name, Daija, means 'big snake'. **

**For those who don't like the personalities of the characters, the current one****s are temporary (Eg. Naruto won't be impulsive, Sakura won't be a wuss). And since no one requested a language for jutsus, I'm doing English. It's easier and I can make up my own.**

**R****ed. **


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